Guest review: Juice Beauty Organic Skin Care

This is a guest review by MsLips, a reader of Viva Woman, on some products provided by Juice Beauty.

Juice Beauty has been described as a cult beauty brand adored by Hollywood celebrities such as Kate Hudson. The organic beauty brand can also be described as “beauty with a conscience” since the company adopts earth-friendly practices such as organic farming, solar manufacturing, and the recycled paper business. Indeed, the Juice Beauty website proclaims its mission: to bring authentically organic, high efficacy and pleasurable beauty solutions to people worldwide. Lest you think that its only trump card is its eco-friendly stance, the company’s products are backed by science. There is even a tab called “Clinical Results” on its website that puts paid to its mission to achieve high efficacy. The products all have a 100% Certified Organic Juice Base.

Of course, I didn’t know all this when Sesame asked me to help test the products. I had heard of Juice Beauty but my knowledge only extended as far as knowing that this was one of the up and coming brands. To be honest, I am not someone who will buy a product just because it’s organic or eco-friendly. More important to me is what the product does for my skin and whether I am comfortable using it. I learnt while testing these products that there must be a right fit when it comes to the product and your skin type. Also, you need to see how much or how little of the product to use based on the climate and your personal preferences although the product does have its usage recommendations. I had three instances of acne breakouts while testing the products which lead me to conclude that perhaps the products are not suitable for my skin type in this current hot and humid climate. My skin type is sensitive but I have normal to combination skin. The cleanser I was given to test, for example, was for dry/sensitive/mature skin. Two out of three isn’t bad but my skin is more oily than dry. As a result, I felt that on the whole the products were too heavy for me. Below is my review of the specific products.

The cleansing milk is a soap-free formula that is made up of a blend of certified organic antioxidant-rich raspberry and white grape juices, along with soothing aloe vera, nutrient-rich grapeseed oil and vitamins. The product claims to gently cleanse without drying, leaving a dewy radiant complexion. I must say that it does what it claims to do. I was a bit apprehensive when I first saw the product. I tried shaking the plastic bottle it came in but the cleansing milk was so thick that it hardly moved. The beige-coloured cleansing milk is more cream-like than milky in texture. I love the raspberry smell though. My first try, 4 pumps of cleansing milk, proved too much. Subsequently, I only used 2 to 3 pumps and made sure my face was quite damp before slathering on the cleanser. Though the product instructions were to rinse well, I found that rinsing alone was not enough. I cleaned off with damp cotton wool before rinsing and that helped. My face felt clean after that and yes, I found that after a few uses, my face did look dewy and radiant.

I was stumped when I first encountered the soothing serum. What is a soothing serum anyway? Being a cleanse-tone-moisturize kind of gal, I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. Reading the website and the product packaging, the serum is said to calm and soothe and on the bottle, there’s a line, “Cool Your Fires”. Ok, so maybe I was an idiot but there you go, it acts like some kind of a balm to ease the redness on your face. It sounded perfect for me as my skin tends to get red to my sensitivity to the sun and other elements.

The serum was the same beige colour as the cleansing milk with a similar raspberry smell. Said to contain a soothing blend of certified organic antioxidant-rich raspberry juice, aloe vera, licorice and bearberry botanicals, nutrient-rich essential fatty acids and vitamin C, the product aimed to give its user a healthy skin tone. The serum came in a glass bottle with an eye-dropper cap. Usage instructions were to either spot treat twice daily or warm 4-6 drops in your palms and apply to entire face and neck. Being unsure, I decided to apply to my entire face and neck. I found that 4-6 drops was too much and subsequently, reduced the amount to only 2-3 drops. Having experienced breakouts after using this, I subsequently decided to avoid applying to my T-zone. After a few days, my complexion became dewy and more radiant. I quite like this product but when I started using it under the Nutrient Moisturizer, I had a bad breakout. It could be that the combination of the two products was too heavy for my skin. However, the serum can be used under a moisturizer (or alone) as is stated on the bottle. So for those of you with dry skin, this might be a good combination for dewy, radiant skin.

Touted as the solution for ageless beauty, this moisturizer is a blend of certified organic grape juice, vitamin-rich carrot juice and nourishing essential fatty acids for ageless healthy skin. As stated on the packaging, the benefit of using it is to replenish and protect for smooth, healthy skin. In truth, I found this moisturizer too rich for my liking. Tightly packed in a small glass jar, the beige-coloured cream smells a bit like the Renew Antioxidant Moisturising Cream I used previouly. The instructions on the jar were as such, “Moisturize morning and evening by warming in palms before smoothing over cleansed face, neck and décolleté”. I dabbed a small amount, the size of a ten-cent coin, onto my palms to warm it. However, it didn’t make the cream more “spreadable” and it was difficult to smooth over my face. Instead I ended up applying the cream in light strokes on my face. Instead of ending up with smooth, healthy skin, I suspect that this moisturizer, when used with the soothing serum, was what caused my breakout. I’ll be going to a temperate region on a holiday this June. I just might bring this moisturizer with me for a second opinion. Who knows, it might be what I need in the winter.

Out of the four products I was asked to test, I was most excited to try this. I had been toying with the idea of changing my regular sunscreen and so was on the lookout for an alternative to my Chanel Precision UV Essentiel SPF 50. I had in mind a tinted sunscreen as an alternative. I was told that since I have a fair complexion, the Juice Beauty Mineral Light Moisturizer would still be too dark for me. So I was given the SPF 30 Mineral Sheer Moisturizer to test. Combining chemical-free full spectrum SPF 30 sun protection with certified organic white grape and pomegranate juices, vitamin antioxidants and essential nutrients, the moisturizer was supposed to provide all the coverage and protection you need. The moisturizer has one active ingredient listed: Titanium Dioxide (10%). One of the benefits of this product as stated on the website was “easy spreading without the ‘white’ look”. Unfortunately, I found this product fell below my expectations and consequently is my least favourite of the four products.

Contrary to what the website claimed, there was significant whitecast when I applied the moisturizer to my face. In terms of texture, the moisturizer was thicker than what I would have liked. The creamy texture made the moisturizer less easy to spread on my face. I do like the citrus fragrance and the fact that the moisturizer came in a tube. When I was out and about under the sun, my face felt rather inflamed, something I had not experienced much when I was using my regular sunscreen. However, what I was most disappointed with was that the moisturizer made my face very oily after a while. My face powder did help alleviate the oily sheen somewhat and restore the matt look but the oily sheen showed through after some time and I had to keep reapplying my face powder. I felt that the moisturizer didn’t let my skin “breathe” and hence I tended to break out in a rather unsightly sweat.

Availability
You can find Juice Beauty’s range of organic products available at Sephora at ION Orchard as well as Takashimaya in Singapore.

Comments

We have Juice Beauty in Bangkok since last year but I was hesistant due to their certain ingredients, which would be irritating to very sensitive skin, some seemed to be safe but I’m waiting for best deal such as X’mas gift set. Thanks for the reviews especially I wanted to try their soothing serum and nutrient moisturizer, but now I think I have to think twice since they are quite rich . “v

their ingredient list reminds me of what i usually see in 100%Pure products.. the soothing serum sounds interesting! might try that out soon.. the problem that the nutrient moisturizer posed sounds similar to my aesop primrose moisturizer, warming it up doesnt make it more spreadable, hence i had to resort to diluting it with toner to make a “lotion” to aid spreading. what is the number of months that you have to finish the product upon opening?

i love Juice Beauty products! I have oily skin as well and i use the Cleansing Gel which is specifically for oil skin. also once a week i use the Green Apple Peel. The combination of the soothing serum and nutrient moisturizer was probably to much for your skin especially if you live in a warm and dewy climate. totally try the Cleaning gel you will fall in love i promise! I buy mine at whole foods….easy and simple!

Depends what’s your budget and also what you prefer. Choose something that’s in a cream texture as that’s probably more suited for dry skin than lotions. Sometimes I find I need an old and a moisturizer for my dry areas.

Hi Bt,
Just want to say thanks for the information on Juice Beauty as i suffer from extremely dry skin on my face and i havnt been able to find a good face cream yet. I think i mite try this cream as its organic maybe this will help me??

You should try the Green Apple Peel from Juice Beauty! I had it when i lived in hawaii for a year and with the weather there its hard to use a lot of products! After i use it i dont have to wear makeup becuase my skin looks so good!

Thank you for your honest review! I tried Juice Beauty products too, but I actually prefer their Stem Cellular line. It is an anti-aging line, however it will work great for younger people as well. My favorite product is Stem Cellular Repair Booster Serum which makes miracles to my dry skin. Also, I liked a lot a Cleansing Oil – it is a very unique product that combines various organic oils. I use it to remove eye makeup. If you are interested, you can find my review on all Stem Cellular line products here: http://stylesprinter.com/review-stem-cellular-line-by-juice-beauty/Katya last post is: Review: Stem Cellular Line by Juice Beauty